This will cause some major speculation in the coming days and weeks. It already started with the possibility, or speculation, that Sir Alex at Manchester United might have his last season. United rival Manchester City and Roberto Mancini as well as Chelsea and Roberto Di Matteo are now up for speculations.

Guardiaola did an outstanding job at Barca and a line of interested clubs will probably form over the next days. Let’s enjoy that spectacle.

The Barclay’s English Premier League is in its last rounds before the champion of the 2011/2012 season is found. Naturally, the fight for glory or to avoid relegation is fierce, and takes everything that the players, managers and clubs have to offer. Very often the fight on the pitch is brought off the pitch by all involved and intensifies the struggle.

Currently, Manchester City is the club that has problems that have been created off the pitch or due to individual weakness and lack of knowledge. In city’s case, Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli have held the club in the news on a daily basis not because they are awesome soccer players, but for all kind of other negative reasons that make your manager, the club and the business partners of the club have nightmares.

Every time such a nightmare situation arises, millions of dollars are at stake. In city’s case, the damage could go into the ten’s or hundred’s of millions. For a club that has spent way over $400 million in new players and delivered a $140 million loss last year, this is certainly a nightmare. Not that city is poor, their ownership pays for “city expenses” out of the change drawer, but nobody is happy to lose that kind of money if it can be avoided. Clearly, this is not the way how the ownership of the club became that rich.

Let’s talk about Mario Balotelli: The guy is 21 years old and is a sensational soccer talent. Nobody in the soccer world will dispute that. He makes $320,000 a week(!), all-in-all somewhere between $15 and $20 million a year and has no clue about what kind of nonsense he delivers. For himself, he believes he is the coolest guy since mankind. To mention some examples of his performance: Almost burned down his mansion by firing fireworks out of the bathroom window, parking tickets of over $10,000 in less than two years, visiting a strip club hours before the game, featured in an article about the hooker that already gave Wayne Rooney a headache, 4 red cards in less than two years and many other actions in full disrespect of himself, his family and everyone else around him.

Balotelli has a personal manager. This guy is negotiating contracts for him and makes sure he stays interesting in the soccer world. Obviously, he has no clue on how Balotelli’s actions influence his marketability or he doesn’t care as long as he gets his commissions and paychecks.

Balotelli has quite a few assets that are very marketable and could make him a real big gun, right now and way beyond his soccer career. All it would take is some minimal professionalism on the job and in public. If one would express the $ damage to himself, the loss is in the 100’s of millions over the next 40 years, clearly. It is a mystery why his manager and his family are not taking influence on this guy and try to help him. It is clear that Balotelli himself is unable to do so.

For the club the losses are much greater. $100 million can be lost in one season and looking at city’s season, that is exactly what is going to happen. Early exit from the European Championships, FA Cup and Carling Cup, and playing only second fiddle to Manchester United will cost the club way more than a $100 million. Selling Balotelli? Well, that would only go hand in hand with a huge transfer loss at this time and would make things worse for the club. The example Carlos Tevez has proven that fact and so city will go on and hope and pray Balotelli, and Tevez, will learn a lesson, somehow. Continue reading →

Saturday’s FA Cup match between Liverpool and Manchester United put some expression of concern of all Manchester soccer fans’ face. While it was United that lost and excused themselves from the FA Cup, on the blue side of town things are no less a concern. Both clubs started into the season with hopes and ambitions in different competitions. And, a number of “pots” was expected on both sides and in the soccer world, not only in the English, in general. Now, for both, there are two opportunities left” The Europa League and the Barclay’s English Premier League Title.Continue reading →

Though times on the horizon for Manchester City. With today’s loss against their biggest rivals another trophy for the season is gone. Yes, the loss was quite unfortunate and one can’t say the better team won, but losing is losing and in soccer the goals are counting. A few more unfortunate losses and the last important trophy, the premier league title, is gone as well. Continue reading →

Roberto Mancini has a nice roster at Manchester City. But with the collection of stars comes a lot of nonsense. Carlos Tevez and his manager are just one example of what Mancini has to endure off the pitch. Sometimes its like a Zoo…